Mirage

:This article is about mirage, an optical phenomenon. For other meanings, see Mirage (disambiguation).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A mirage, derived from the Latin mirari, meaning 'to be astonished', is an optical phenomenon which often occurs naturally. The kind most commonly seen (known as inferior mirage, because the inverted image lies below the upright one) is produced by the refraction of light when it passes into a layer of warm air lying close to a heated ground surface. This is an example of gradient index optics.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In deserts, mirages may give the appearance of a lake or other large body of water in the distance; this is actually an image of the sky being refracted back up from the warm air lying over the sand. On tarmacked roads, mirages give the impression that distant objects are being reflected by a puddle of water on the road.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Latin: Latin is an Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. It gained great importance as the formal language of the Roman Empire. All Romance languages are descended from Latin, and many words based on Latin are found in other modern languages such as English. The ...

Optical phenomenon: An optical phenomenon is any observable event which results from the interaction of light and matter. See also list of optical topics and optics....

Refraction: :This article refers to refraction in waves. For refraction in metals, see refraction (metallurgy)....

Mirage related Images and Photos (experimental)

Mirage	Mirage (1965) DVD (Widescreen)	Blue Mirage I	Palm Mirage I
White Mirage I	Palm Mirage II	Five Window El Mirage	Mirage Napoleons Scientists and the Unveiling of Egypt (Paperback) Book
Kre-o Transformers Mirage